Education innovator and Khan Academy founder Sal Khan recently published “Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing)”. Popular thought leadership website Next Big Idea published five key takeaways from the book in a June 21st post.
Khan discusses how AI can revolutionize education by offering teachers unprecedented opportunities to maintain the human connection by enhancing and accelerating personalized learning. He emphasizes that AI can serve as an invaluable teaching assistant, handling administrative tasks and providing insights that allows educators to focus on building a meaningful rapport with their students.
Check out the full article here.
Our experience with AI generative tools aligns with Khan’s perspective. For instance, during a recent webinar, our college essay coaches highlighted how AI-generated essays, though well-structured, fail to capture the unique personal stories and voices of students. This gap underscores the importance of blending AI tools with human oversight to ensure authenticity in student work.
Moreover, the integration of AI in education extends beyond essay writing. A national survey conducted by Bespoke Education indicates that 80% of college counselors believe AI and EdTech can improve equity and fairness in education.
Trusting, face-to-face relationships that allow students to reach their full potential in the classroom and on standardized tests have remained constant throughout Bespoke’s 20-year history. Indeed, we have found that personal relationships where tutors or teachers offer guidance, support, and motivation are particularly important in helping students overcome obstacles to doing their best work.
While AI may have certain roles to play, for now it is no substitute for in-person teaching and human relationships. We believe that AI in education should not be framed as a choice between technology and human touch. Instead, it should focus on how to integrate these tools in a way that leverages their strengths while preserving the irreplaceable value of human educators.
